| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | How to Quit Smoking Without Going Bankrupt? I Need Hints Thread poster: Haluk Levent Aka (X)
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Mats Wiman 
Sweden
Local time: 11:27
Member (2000)
German to Swedish
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In memoriam | Are you your own boss? | Oct 17, 2012 |
That was the question I asked myself when I was 28.
The answer was: "No, you are dependent, You are an addict and thus, not your own boss.
The most difficult thing was to make a firm decision. It was ten in the evening (in the basement). I pressed my last stub in the ashtray and said to myself: "That is it!"
I knew that the real test of my willpower would come in the morning with my morning coffee (coffee, redwine and whisky are the most difficult 'cigarette ignit... See more That was the question I asked myself when I was 28.
The answer was: "No, you are dependent, You are an addict and thus, not your own boss.
The most difficult thing was to make a firm decision. It was ten in the evening (in the basement). I pressed my last stub in the ashtray and said to myself: "That is it!"
I knew that the real test of my willpower would come in the morning with my morning coffee (coffee, redwine and whisky are the most difficult 'cigarette igniters' to withstand).
To strengthen my resolve, I did not make coffee but a big cup of tea (the UK version with milk).
Result: No ignition. (First test absolved)
The most sensational result of the whole exercise was how easy it was to uphold the decision once you had made it. One felt lighter, started to sense things one had forgotten, taste sensations came back and one's brain started to tick better - and one started to notice that smokers stink.
("I won't kiss a girl who is a smoker"). Rooms where smokers smoke also stink.
Death is too far away to stop a smoker from smoking, but if s/he would know what happens on the cellular level in different parts of their body, most smokers would quit.
Mats Wiman
[Edited at 2012-10-17 11:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | As I reach for a piece of chewing gum... | Oct 17, 2012 |
I agree with Robin B that cold turkey is the way to go. Allen Carr (whose book I read, and which helped, although I thought his tone was a bit pompous) is just another way of reassuring yourself that you can do it. But rest assured, you can. I gave up smoking two years ago after 20 years of die-hard pack-a-day smoking. Now I have gum on hand in the car and at the office, and I actually find it more satisfying than a cigarette (not to mention less dangerous and stinky).
Choose the ri... See more I agree with Robin B that cold turkey is the way to go. Allen Carr (whose book I read, and which helped, although I thought his tone was a bit pompous) is just another way of reassuring yourself that you can do it. But rest assured, you can. I gave up smoking two years ago after 20 years of die-hard pack-a-day smoking. Now I have gum on hand in the car and at the office, and I actually find it more satisfying than a cigarette (not to mention less dangerous and stinky).
Choose the right moment - you might want to begin before the holidays arrive - and then just think of it as a challenge. Little by little the cravings will die down. Thinking of the "beast" shrinking every time you say no is very good motivation when you feel like you need to smoke in a dire way. If you can resist in those moments, you've already beat it.
You'll feel great and your concentration will actually improve, as you won't be distracted by the need to smoke. That is, in fact, the best part: you'll never dread another flight or count the minutes until you can find the exit of a mall, restaurant or trade fair... That itchy urge just doesn't come back after a while.
But don't hesitate to reward yourself in other ways, especially by splashing out with that money you'll have saved. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:27
Portuguese to English
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It's medication that worked wonders for a few of my friends. But here in England you can only get it with a doctor's prescription. Ask your doctor if you have it in Turkey.
Going cold turkey is very hard, but it can be done. My partner has done it, but he had a scare and that was the final push to make him decide to quit
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:27
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| I agree with RobinB, you need to just stop. | Oct 17, 2012 |
Hi Haluk,
Sorry if this sounds harsh, or impossible, but I think the only way to stop an addiction is to stop COMPLETELY. It might be hard, but you would be surprised what you can do if you just do it. A person can stop using pretty much any drug ...cold turkey. Patches, e-cigarettes, hypnosis – they are all just ways of putting off the difficult problem of divesting the drug of its power to control you.
Remember: if you have really decided to stop, you can sto... See more Hi Haluk,
Sorry if this sounds harsh, or impossible, but I think the only way to stop an addiction is to stop COMPLETELY. It might be hard, but you would be surprised what you can do if you just do it. A person can stop using pretty much any drug ...cold turkey. Patches, e-cigarettes, hypnosis – they are all just ways of putting off the difficult problem of divesting the drug of its power to control you.
Remember: if you have really decided to stop, you can stop. You can go from 2 packs a day to zero cigarettes a day, just like that. But you have to want to do it. Also, try not to think of it as giving up something, but rather as gaining something. All of those substitutes will trick you into thinking that you still want to do it...
Good luck!
Michael ▲ Collapse
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I don't remember how long ago I quit smoking - I guess that is a good thing. i used to smoke since I was 15 and smoked over 40 cigarettes a day.
Something that helped me to overcome suffering was to become aware of my feelings. I was using buddhist mediation techniques, but I am sure there are now enough religion-free offers of similar techniques for any taste. The idea behind is the following: When we can start to watch our own feelings without getting scared of them, we don't suf... See more I don't remember how long ago I quit smoking - I guess that is a good thing. i used to smoke since I was 15 and smoked over 40 cigarettes a day.
Something that helped me to overcome suffering was to become aware of my feelings. I was using buddhist mediation techniques, but I am sure there are now enough religion-free offers of similar techniques for any taste. The idea behind is the following: When we can start to watch our own feelings without getting scared of them, we don't suffer. We suffer because we try to push the feelings away. And to quit smoking generates a lot of unpleasant feelings during the first time.
To realize what's going on and just watch it happen is what helped me overcome the first days, and after a short time I forgot that I needed to smoke.
To obtain a good knowledge about what happens in your brain helps as well - nicotine acts on the area in your brain that is responsible for rewards. When we smoke, we damage the normal functioning of this area and when the constant flow of nicotine stops, it makes us feel miserable. But after a while, this brain area returns to its normal function and we can live normally, felling rewarded after achieving something and not because we just smoked a cigarette.
I wish you good, quick success! You will feel so much better! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alison Sparks (X)
Local time: 11:27
French to English
+ ...
I will be re-reading this forum and watching out for other comments. I've been smoking for over 40 years now and have tried numerous times to quit without success.
I've tried hypnotism (worked for about 2 weeks), acupuncture (2 days), patches, nicotine gum, (which tasted vile) and even cold turkey but that was disastrous as I ended up fighting with just about everyone at some point each day!
During the cold turkey attempt I ate vast numbers of mints and suffered from f... See more I will be re-reading this forum and watching out for other comments. I've been smoking for over 40 years now and have tried numerous times to quit without success.
I've tried hypnotism (worked for about 2 weeks), acupuncture (2 days), patches, nicotine gum, (which tasted vile) and even cold turkey but that was disastrous as I ended up fighting with just about everyone at some point each day!
During the cold turkey attempt I ate vast numbers of mints and suffered from flatulence as a consequence. I also drank rather too much - equally bad for the health.
I tried last year with Champix prescribed by the doctor. It sort of worked, but I gather it has now been withdrawn from the market as it poses other health risks. In any case it was more expensive than buying cigarettes!
I am currently trying again, having learnt that I have emphysema. This time I use very strong small mints and normal chewing gum as a substitute, and this certainly seems to help. I have also purchased an e-cigarette pack which helps with the 'what to do with your hands' problem especially when having a drink or after meals. The e-cigarette has three sets of "cartridges" one with 5 mg nicotine, one with 2 mg nicotine, and one with no nicotine. I'm down to the 2 mg one now.
So far I'm down to a third of my usual normal cigarette consumption and still reducing gradually. The hardest part though is that most of my family around me still smoke so although I'm well aware of the fact that it stinks, clings to clothes, and kissing a smoker must be like kissing an ashtray, I can't get away from it!
I've been thinking about gong away somewhere for a month and being entirely on my own so as not to be permanently tempted or have people to argue with, but that's fairly impracticable and in any case I would still face the same problems on my return.
PS. too much chewing gum seems to give me the 'runs', or is that just my imagination? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rob Lunn
Spain
Local time: 11:27
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Another Allen Carr success story | Oct 17, 2012 |
From over 40 a day to 0 in 1999. I'd tried everything else and was desperate to stop. Maybe it won't work the 2nd time around, but the book probably just says that so you don't think that you've got a second chance. Anyway, what have you got to lose? From what you say, it sounds like it's what's worked best for you to date.
Good luck! It's well worth it.
| | | | | How about this one? | Oct 17, 2012 |
Haluk Levent Aka wrote: Yasutomo Kanazawa wrote:
Hello Atril,
I see you point, but as Haluk wrote above, he tried quitting a few times, and everytime, he loses concentration. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that there is no need for him to quit (BTW, I'm not associated with any kind of tobacco manufacturer) if he cannot function like he wants to.
Maybe I was prejudiced that Turkey and many countries in the Middle East are not serious about smoking/anti-smoking. At least in my country Japan, we do not have any anti-smoking commcercials, and the only messages on the cigarette packages tell you that there are x.x times higher rate of dying from lung cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke or complicate emphysema compared to non-smokers. Isn't that beautiful? No fancy photos of lungs or the mouth infected with nicotine and tar. Kanazawasan Hi, I lived in Japan for 4 years. I know that Japanese people, especially the men, smoke a lot and SURPRISINGLY, you have somewhat low cancer rates in Japan (it must be genetics or diet or something...). But in my country, my people suffer from cancer and lung diseases a lot (highest death cause are cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema)... Plus, I have been a smoker for the last 22 years. I already start to feel consequences (the way I breath, when I'm on treadmill at the GYM, or while swimming etc...). So at this stage, it is critical for me to quit -I can feel that. Maybe, if a person is very well disciplined and can keep his smoking at acceptable levels (say maximum 3 or 5 cigs a day), in that case I would agree with you. In fact many doctors smoke themselves (it's a simple trade-off; cost calculation thing for them). But in my case, I must definitely quit.
Hi Haluk,
Maybe the site below might help (it's in Japanese)
http://kinen.commonsense.jp/
It's called "kin-en-sou" （禁煙草）, literary translated to "stop smoking grass". It contains no nicotines or tar, and the contents are tea leaves. If you google the kanjis, you'll get a lot of hits.
I've been a smoker for more than 25 years (and still counting), and I sometimes feel that I want to quit, but I don't drink and that's one of the reason why I cannot give up smoking. The other reason is that my favorite brands are still in the market. If they die out or become obsolete, I might be able to quit.
I agree to your last part. The situation is the same in Japan, where the government owns 51% of the stock for Japan Tobacco, a monopolized tobacco company in Japan, where there are price hikes to increase the revenue, and the conspiracy of the tobacco companies (not only Japan Tobacco, but others like Phillip Morris and BAT) lowering nicotine using as a legitimate reason for people's health. But actually, smokers will smoke more if they cannot get satisfaction from one stick of cigarettes. This has been tested and proved by many scientists and doctors, but a smoker who smokes a pack a day of cigarettes containing 10 mg of nicotine switches to 5 mg for health reasons, he will likely smoke 2 packs or more to get the same amount of nicotine in one's body, meaning unhealthier and being a heavy smoker than before.
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 12:27
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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| Try some substitution | Oct 17, 2012 |
The most difficult part could be the habit to reach in you pocket/handbag and take the pack, pull out the stick and lit it, play with it, look at it etc.
Just take something else you can pull out and put into your mouth. Have you tried electric cigarettes? An empty pipe?
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:27
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Alison Sparks wrote:
I tried last year with Champix prescribed by the doctor. It sort of worked, but I gather it has now been withdrawn from the market as it poses other health risks. In any case it was more expensive than buying cigarettes!
I guess it depends on the country's health system. Here in England, Champix is a treatment of up to three months. My friends quit in the first month and paid about £7 or £17 for that month's pills from what I remember. These pills are quite famous here.
| | | | Gianni Pastore
Italy
Local time: 11:27
Member (2007)
English to Italian
This ^ . From 30/day to 0 in half a second with no side effects whatsoever. Bless him!
| | | | Alison Sparks (X)
Local time: 11:27
French to English
+ ...
Champix here in France was at 95€ for the first pack, and subsequent packs were at 70€ or thereabouts, and none of it reimbursable.
You'd have thought that if governments were really serious about helping people to stop smoking they'd at least make it more affordable than cigarettes. But then I guess they lose out on the tax revenues.
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Haluk Levent Aka (X)
Local time: 12:27
Japanese to Turkish
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TOPIC STARTER | Everyone Has Their Excuses :) | Oct 17, 2012 |
Yasutomo Kanazawa wrote: Haluk Levent Aka wrote: Yasutomo Kanazawa wrote:
Hello Atril,
I see you point, but as Haluk wrote above, he tried quitting a few times, and everytime, he loses concentration. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that there is no need for him to quit (BTW, I'm not associated with any kind of tobacco manufacturer) if he cannot function like he wants to.
Maybe I was prejudiced that Turkey and many countries in the Middle East are not serious about smoking/anti-smoking. At least in my country Japan, we do not have any anti-smoking commcercials, and the only messages on the cigarette packages tell you that there are x.x times higher rate of dying from lung cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke or complicate emphysema compared to non-smokers. Isn't that beautiful? No fancy photos of lungs or the mouth infected with nicotine and tar. Kanazawasan Hi, I lived in Japan for 4 years. I know that Japanese people, especially the men, smoke a lot and SURPRISINGLY, you have somewhat low cancer rates in Japan (it must be genetics or diet or something...). But in my country, my people suffer from cancer and lung diseases a lot (highest death cause are cancer and lung diseases such as emphysema)... Plus, I have been a smoker for the last 22 years. I already start to feel consequences (the way I breath, when I'm on treadmill at the GYM, or while swimming etc...). So at this stage, it is critical for me to quit -I can feel that. Maybe, if a person is very well disciplined and can keep his smoking at acceptable levels (say maximum 3 or 5 cigs a day), in that case I would agree with you. In fact many doctors smoke themselves (it's a simple trade-off; cost calculation thing for them). But in my case, I must definitely quit. Hi Haluk, Maybe the site below might help (it's in Japanese) http://kinen.commonsense.jp/ It's called "kin-en-sou" （禁煙草）, literary translated to "stop smoking grass". It contains no nicotines or tar, and the contents are tea leaves. If you google the kanjis, you'll get a lot of hits. I've been a smoker for more than 25 years (and still counting), and I sometimes feel that I want to quit, but I don't drink and that's one of the reason why I cannot give up smoking. The other reason is that my favorite brands are still in the market. If they die out or become obsolete, I might be able to quit. I agree to your last part. The situation is the same in Japan, where the government owns 51% of the stock for Japan Tobacco, a monopolized tobacco company in Japan, where there are price hikes to increase the revenue, and the conspiracy of the tobacco companies (not only Japan Tobacco, but others like Phillip Morris and BAT) lowering nicotine using as a legitimate reason for people's health. But actually, smokers will smoke more if they cannot get satisfaction from one stick of cigarettes. This has been tested and proved by many scientists and doctors, but a smoker who smokes a pack a day of cigarettes containing 10 mg of nicotine switches to 5 mg for health reasons, he will likely smoke 2 packs or more to get the same amount of nicotine in one's body, meaning unhealthier and being a heavy smoker than before.
In relation to that part about you going to quit when your favorite brand is obsolete: that's just doesn't work that way. Until ten years ago, all the cool / tough guys (including myself) used to smoke (CencoredBrandHere). We loved it in a way British men love their soccer team. We used to say "I don't smoke cigarettes, I smoke (CencoredBrandHere)". If we couldn't find our brand, we would never smoke anything else. Such a brand-loyalty... It was a phenomenon. There were poems and songs about it -no kidding.
Then Japan Tobacco acquired (CencoredBrandHere) and changed the blend of tobacco used in it (no longer Turkish tobacco...) - everyone was in shock, disappointed. But here is the point: none of us quitted smoking. We just switched to some other high-nicotine brand
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:27
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Alison Sparks wrote:
Champix here in France was at 95€ for the first pack, and subsequent packs were at 70€ or thereabouts, and none of it reimbursable.
You'd have thought that if governments were really serious about helping people to stop smoking they'd at least make it more affordable than cigarettes. But then I guess they lose out on the tax revenues.
That is a lot of money indeed. I'm glad the situation is different here
| | | | Haluk Levent Aka (X)
Local time: 12:27
Japanese to Turkish
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TOPIC STARTER
Hello Everyone,
With the support of so many lovely people, who have been so kind to take time and write encouraging messages, I now MUST give it another try. So, I’m giving myself a 2-week off (as I know I can’t translate anyhow) and going Cold Turkey. I haven’t found a solution for concentration issue, but I am hoping my concentration will improve in two weeks.
Once again, thank you all.
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